50 | Difficult project wins award KB Contractors T T Russell Fredric REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT KB Contractors’ suite of services includes specialisation in trenchless installation, including directional drilling that has resulted in back-to-back industry awards during the past two years. At the Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) awards held in Dunedin in May, the Mosgiel- headquartered business won a Category A award for its part in the Glenorchy reservoir upgrade, with a technically difficult pipe installation. A Category A award is for projects up to $100,000. The overall project involved two new reservoirs constructed of steel plate replacing four pre-cast concrete tanks, increasing the town’s water capacity from 90,000 litres to 500,000 litres. KB Contractors’ general manager Danny van der Voort says while small in scale, the company’s part of the project required a high level of skill and attention to detail to complete because of the precise directional drilling required between a live rising water main and live gravity water main. There were also other services to consider while drilling, and these were located with ground penetrating radar (GPR), along with other equipment being used to locate power and telecommunications cables, a cost-effective and time-efficient solution to achieve this. “Bridgewater Civil replaced the reservoirs and all the pipes leading to the reservoir for the drinking water. We were subcontracted to Bridgewater Civil,” Danny says. “The two drill shots were down about a 60-degree bank. The first pipe was pumping the water up to the reservoir and the other pipe going down was the falling main, which is the pipe that feeds all the houses, so we had to install those two pipes, plus the power and a data cable duct. It’s pretty much as close to vertical as directional drilling can get.” Because of this, it was a high-risk situation that required careful consideration. “We had to build a big ramp for the drill to go on so we could drill down the face of it; there was basically no other way of doing it. Even our drill locator walking down the bank to locate the drill head had to be harnessed because it was so steep.” “That’s what we won the award for, because of the degree of difficulty. It’s good recognition for the business, but it’s really our team out on the job that deserve a pat on the back.” KB Contractors company employs 50 staff and marks its 40th year of operation next year and continues to be at the forefront of trenchless technology, specialising in directional drilling, excavations, pipe bursting, thrust boring, butt and fusion welding, steel pipe ramming, and hydro excavation. About 50% of its work involves trenchless horizontal directional drilling using advanced, highly manoeuvrable Grundodrill rigs, with the balance of work including standard “diggers and trucks” civil contracting, trenching and drainlaying. The German-manufactured Grundodrills are an impressive and reliable machine, Danny says. “They do some pretty tough work; they’ve stood the test of time.” At last year’s CCNZ awards, KB Contractors won the Total Energies Category A award for its role in the power upgrade for Wakari Hospital for Southern District Health Board. KB Contractors contracts manager Ken Eaton says the contract was led by consulting electrical engineers Pedersen Read and required directional drilling to install two 100mm ducts to house power cables to a new power transformer lower down the hospital’s sloping site. “We successfully drilled from the upper car park, down under the building, under the old chapel, across all the roads and missed all the water mains.” KB Contractors is at the forefront of trenchless technology, specialising in directional drilling, excavations, pipe bursting, thrust boring, butt and fusion welding, steel pipe ramming, and hydro excavation. (03) 489 5343 admin@kbcontractors.co.nz Directional Drilling Pipe Ramming Pipe Bursting Thrust Boring Specialists in trenchless technology. Water • Drainage • Gas • Telecommunications • Power 03 453 0777 hello@otagoengineering.co.nz 395 Kaikorai Valley Road Dunedin 9011 www.otagoengineering.co.nz Specialists in Balustrades, Gates, Automated Gates, Fencing, Handrails & more! Find us on
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